Tax Day

This story:

WASHINGTON – On the day of the deadline for Americans to file their tax returns, President Barack Obama will talk about restoring fairness to the tax code and providing tax relief to working families.

Of course "fairness" is a loaded word. I might consider fair to be smaller marginal rates for people who make under $100,000 and an increase in the teacher tax deduction. As long as we are at it, why not include a big tax credit for teachers who want to pursue more education - I might like to pursue a MBA or PhD. Of course scarcity means that in order to raise the same amount of revenue, a reduction in taxes for one household means a tax increase for someone else. The "tax relief to working families" would imply that President Obama is pursuing policy that would make the tax code more progressive - no real surprises there.

After doing my taxes again this year, I think tax simplification might be a more noble cause to pursue.

Update : It looks like President Obama is at least interested in tax simplification, according to this story:

Seeking to tap into public exasperation with the tax system, Obama said: "We need to simplify a monstrous tax code that is far too complicated for most Americans to understand, but just complicated enough for the insiders who know how to work the system."

"It will take time to undo the damage of years of carve-outs and loopholes. But I want every American to know that we will rewrite the tax code so that it puts your interests over any special interest. And we will make it quicker, easier and less expensive for you to file a return, so that April 15 is not a date that is approached with dread each year," he said.

Of course the difficulty of passing tax reform is monumental. Example - when President Bush's panel on tax reform suggested eliminating or reforming the mortgage interest tax deduction - the realtor's lobby group went wild and struck fear into the hearts of every homeowner.